It's a................

Welcome to my virtual gender reveal party!

All sources and other drool-worthy ideas can be found on my Pinterest.


The anatomy scan was this morning, where they not only found one perfect nose, one perfect heart, and all sorts of other perfect measurements...but also...A PENIS.  It's a boy, it's a boy, IT'S A BOY!  He was quite the exhibitionist, he had no problem showing off his boy parts.  The whole family is excited and cannot wait to meet you Baby Boy!!!!!!!!!

Team Green it is!

Sorry to disappoint folks!  I went to the ultrasound school this afternoon for attempt three at gender determination, and naturally the baby was still in breech position.  I told you I wasn't hopeful, and I meant it.


Believe me, WE TRIED EVERYTHING.

• Full bladder
• Half-full bladder
• Empty bladder
• Jumping jacks
• Eating and drinking
• EVERY POSITION IMAGINABLE
  

I have experienced few sensations more uncomfortable than a half-full bladder, but it was worth the effort. 

We would have loved to have known who is in my belly, but its not the worst thing in the world.  While the tech was trying to catch a money shot, the baby was kicking in response to the probe, and it was the cutest thing to watch the kicks on the screen and feel the kicks at the same time.  That moment made me fall even more in love with our little one. 


So we're officially batting for Team Green, and that means...GREEN COOKIES FOR EVERYONE!  Yay!  I'm going to list all the peeps I have down for a bet either way: 

Casey, mama, dad, Fallon, Cole, Bonnie, Alan, Derek, Zack, Julie, Meg, Stacy, Jenn, Kristie, Liz, Carrie, Shelby, Emma, Georgette, Denise, Beth, Linda, and Rebecca.  (If I missed you, email/text/comment and I will surely get you your cookie)

And now, I will leave you with a pic of Baby Shelton:

Good night peeps!

PS - Today marks the day we announced Baby Shelton to the Facebook world.  Crazy stuff, its like official now.  LOL

Mini Update

I wish this could be a HUGE update, but, sadly, its not.  We went to the ultrasound school last night for our second attempt at the gender determination, and it was a BIG.FAT.FAIL.  The baby was in breech position (AGAIN!), and she or he’s little leggies were closed up like a clam.  For those who don’t know what breech position is (as I did not know until yesterday), it is when the baby’s butt is against my belly and the noggin is up towards my ribs (i.e.:  not ideal for gender determination).  The baby was in this position at the last ultrasound, and that is why those ultrasound techs had such a hard time with the gender determination process. 

The game plan is to have another ultrasound in two weeks.  If the baby still hasn’t moved, I’ll go again; two weeks from that appointment.  If neither of those ultrasounds are able to confirm Baby Shelton’s gender, Casey and I are throwing in the towel, and joining Team Green.  Please don’t think I’m happy about this; I’m actually extremely bitter about being forced to be Team Green.  Don’t worry peeps, if it is Team Green to prevail, everyone that placed a bet will get a green cookie.  Ya, I’m sweet.

Gender Updates

Hello friends.  I know you are all itching with curiosity about our baby's gender, after all...cookies are on the line.  I wish it were as easy as just saying, "Its a boy!" or "Its a girl!", but I don't do things the easy way. 

So here's the story...

Casey and I could not have been more excited for the ultrasound on Monday.  We left work early, and arrived at the ultrasound facility way early.  We were lucky enough to be called back after only a mere 30 minutes of waiting, and before the ultrasound started, the tech offered us a DVD of the ultrasound.  I *thought* we were in good hands. 

Well after a half hour of heart and brain measurements, the tech decides to venture down south and says, "I think I see something hanging between the baby's legs; I think its a boy."  Casey and I look at each other, extremely excited, and just sort of squeeze each others hands to keep from screaming.  The ultrasound continues...for another 45 minutes...

For those of you who aren't terribly familiar with the anatomy scan ultrasound, the entire ultrasound is supposed to last 30 minutes tops.  This was one of several indicators that our ultrasound tech wasn't the brightest bulb.

The other indicator was the tech's unwillingness to answer any of my questions.  I lost all confidence in this broad when she finally stopped prodding and said, "I'm not sure I'm seeing what  I saw before, this might be a girl.  I'm going to go see if I can find another tech to help me with a few pictures."

She leaves and comes back with another tech.  The new tech begins prodding again, and says, "You'll have to excuse Rachel (the first tech), she isn't very familiar with this machine.  We've upgraded to all new machines, and Rachel hasn't trained on this one yet."

The second tech continues prodding, takes the necessary pictures, and then attempts to determine the gender.  She took a few snap shots of the pelvic region and pointed to a little bump, and said, "That's a lady bit, I think this is a girl." (alright, that's not a direct quote...but I'm not using any dirty words on my unborn child's blog)

Rachel later said, "That must have been a toe hanging between his legs."  Well friends, you tell me how one contorts their body to have a toe dangling between their buttcheeks!

Casey and I are still trying to understand how a little bump indicates that its a girl.  We're also still trying to understand how we got stuck with the new girl on the old, crappy ultrasound machine for such an important procedure.  Needless to say, we were not exactly thrilled with the experience.  We plan on having another ultrasound done in a few weeks to confirm the gender.  We are not comfortable shopping and planning a nursery based on yesterday; neither of the techs were confident. 

As I type this lovely blog post, Casey is reviewing our ultrasound DVD and comparing ultrasound shots with Google image.

So there you have it, those who guessed boy kinda won, and those who guessed girl kinda won.  I'll update you folks with something more concrete in a few weeks.  Also, sorry for the delayed weekly birthday post.  I'll try to post tomorrow night. 

17 weeks and a bet!

Baby is now the size of a:  Turnip!  He is just over 5 inches long, as wide as my palm, and weighs almost 6 ounces.  His bones continues to harden, and if an x-ray were taken today, you would be able to see his skeleton.  The baby's body is now covered in a thin hair called Lanugo, which he will shed later in third trimester.  Lastly, his eyes have begun to move side to side beneath his fused eye lids.  Oh, oh!  And....I felt the baby kick!  I was at work and I felt two little taps under my left rib; at first I thought, what the heck was that, and then I realized it was my little pumpkin.  :-) 


How I'm feeling:  Pretty good.  I started taking my thyroid supplement, and my energy has improved somewhat, but the weakness has not.  I've also developed a new, unpleasant sensation...round ligament pain (a.k.a.: growing pains).  In first tri I felt a few tugs here and there, but now it seems like my whole belly hurts all.the.time.   

Physical differences from last week:  I still refuse to weigh myself, unless in a doctor's office, but there was this development...Casey said, "Honey, you finally look pregnant!" 

What's been on my mind:  The baby's gender!  Only 8 days, geez louise its like waiting for Christmas!!!  Thinking about the baby's gender inevitably leads to daydreaming.  I visualize the nursery, and then I start thinking about our little family doing things like Disneyland, the beach, Zoo Lights, going to visit our family in Connecticut; and before you know it I've spent fifteen minutes zoned out at my desk...

What I'm looking forward to:  See above.

Random thoughts:  We have so much to do, ugh!  I have two friends that I reference for my pregnancy, and both had accomplished so much more by this time in their pregnancy.

 

The Bet:  I decided to start a bet with Casey, our families, our friends, and even some coworkers about the baby's gender.  Out of 17 peeps only two say its a girl (yes, this makes me very happy).  The winners will get a delicious blue or pink cookie, baked by yours truly.  Wanna bet?  You can email me or just comment below.